The African private equity industry in Africa may be young and subject to various shortcomings but political stability, infrastructure growth and increasing consumer activity has given it a more positive outlook for this year, the Financial Times reported.
Deals
ARX Equity Partners exits majority stake in film extruder Ergis
ARX Equity Partners, a private equity firm based in Czech Republic, has sold its controlling stake in film extruder Ergis-Eurofilms SA. Ergis claims to be the largest film extrusion group in the country.
Founders launch new tech site venture after closure of AllThingsD
After leaving digital news publication AllThingsD with owner News Corp, editors and founders Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg are focused on building its newest online news site venture called Re/code.
AOL sells Winamp, Shoutcast to Belgian online radio aggregator Radionomy
New York-based mass media company AOL Inc. reportedly sold media player Winamp and music service Shoutcast to Belgian online radio stations aggregator Radionomy. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the week, said a TechSpot report.
Indonesia plans new oil infrastructure to augment dropping production levels
Plans to improve oil production facilities in Indonesia are underway to meet rising local consumption of oil and in effect, increasing drilling-related expenses reimbursed by the national government
Latest News
The Wall Street Journal reported that institutional investors will best remember 2013 as a year of record gains, as buoyant markets facilitated IPOs and debt deals that paid hefty dividends.
New York-based cosmetics company Revlon, which has posted profit declines in 2011 and 2012, will close its operations in China, cutting at least 1,100 jobs. News of the shutdown came a few months after Revlon bought Spanish beauty care company Colomer Group.
Data from Cambridge Associates showed that 2013 was a good year for private equity as they returned $120 billion to their institutional backers, the San Francisco Business Times reported.
Cargo airline Evergreen International Airlines Inc. on December 31 filed for bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Seven other Evergreen affiliates also sought Chapter 7 protection.
Indian companies were able to get private equity deals worth $10.68 billion in 2013, an increase of 12% in value terms compared to that of the previous year.
Northern & Shell, the owner of Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd., is reportedly considering to put up the TV broadcaster for sale for £700 million. Northern & Shell acquired Channel 5 for £103.5 million in 2010.
The global private equity industry closed 2013 with "dry powder" amounting to $1.074 trillion, a figure much higher than the previous record high of $1.067 billion posted before the 2008 global financial crisis.
Private equity companies are buying the debt of the companies they own so they can become creditors and have a second shot at making money on their investments.
India's Bombay Bullion Association, a traders' group representing 1,000 jewelers and traders, plans to buy a 5% stake in the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd after the Forward Markets Commission said its founder was not eligible to run the bourse.
